Holocene Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)

Holocene Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST - Free Report) by 55.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,701 shares of the company's stock after selling 154,078 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP's holdings in Vistra were worth $14,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vistra by 115.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,532,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $217,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356,488 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Vistra by 1,358.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,228,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,596,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143,918 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Vistra by 315.9% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,175,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $101,096,000 after purchasing an additional 893,093 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 121.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,536,192 shares of the company's stock worth $132,082,000 after acquiring an additional 841,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vistra by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 2,125,000 shares of the company's stock worth $251,898,000 after acquiring an additional 797,894 shares during the last quarter. 90.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vistra

In other news, EVP Scott A. Hudson sold 115,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.16, for a total value of $18,878,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 254,932 shares in the company, valued at $41,849,637.12. The trade was a 31.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen J. Muscato sold 207,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.34, for a total transaction of $33,413,514.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 318,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,352,424.58. This trade represents a 39.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.42% of the company's stock.

Vistra Stock Performance

VST stock traded up $7.15 on Wednesday, hitting $161.31. The company had a trading volume of 5,260,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,837,155. Vistra Corp. has a 12-month low of $36.17 and a 12-month high of $168.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.68. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $136.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.62. The stock has a market cap of $54.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.16.

Vistra declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Vistra Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Vistra's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Vistra's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vistra from $99.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vistra from $135.00 to $169.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Vistra in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $178.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vistra from $105.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $149.10.

About Vistra

Vistra Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated retail electricity and power generation company. The company operates through six segments: Retail, Texas, East, West, Sunset, and Asset Closure. It retails electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers across states in the United States and the District of Columbia.